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Willem Hendrik Keesom facts for kids

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Willem Keesom
WillemKeesom1926.jpg
Willem Keesom in 1926
Born 21 June 1876 (1876-06-21)
Texel, Netherlands
Died 3 March 1956 (1956-03-04) (aged 79)
Leiden, Netherlands
Known for helium
Scientific career
Fields physics
Doctoral advisor Johannes Diderik van der Waals

Willem Hendrik Keesom was a Dutch physicist who made important discoveries about very cold temperatures. He was born on June 21, 1876, in Texel, Netherlands, and passed away on March 3, 1956, in Leiden. He is famous for being the first person to freeze liquid helium. He also helped us understand how tiny particles in matter interact with each other.

Amazing Discoveries in Physics

Freezing Liquid Helium

In 1926, Willem Keesom achieved something incredible: he found a way to freeze liquid helium. Helium is a gas that turns into a liquid at extremely cold temperatures, very close to absolute zero. Freezing it was a huge step in learning how matter acts when it's super cold.

Understanding Tiny Forces

In 1921, Keesom also created the first mathematical description for a type of force between molecules. These forces are called dipole–dipole interactions. They are sometimes called Keesom interactions because of his work. These forces help explain why different substances behave the way they do.

A Student of a Nobel Prize Winner

Willem Keesom was a student of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity, which is when certain materials can conduct electricity with no resistance at very low temperatures. For this amazing discovery, Kamerlingh Onnes won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913.

Discovering the Lambda Point

In 1930, Keesom made another important discovery. He found the lambda point transition. This is a special temperature where liquid helium changes from one state (Helium-I) to another (Helium-II). This change affects how helium behaves, especially how it conducts heat.

Recognition and Legacy

In 1924, Willem Keesom became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. This is a group of top scientists and artists in the Netherlands. Many years later, in 1966, a small planet was named after him. It is called 9686 Keesom.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Willem Hendrik Keesom para niños

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